Albus Potter and the Return of Dark Times
by Aquadart
Summary: Shortly after starting his first year at Hogwarts, Albus Potter, Rose Weasley, and their friends realize that not all is well.
1. Prologue

Albus Potter let his hand fall as his parents, aunt, and uncle were swept out of sight. Underneath his nervous thoughts of being sorted into Slytherin, he felt a wave of excitement. This was the moment he had been looking forward to ever since he could remember; the moment he would board the Hogwarts Express with his cousin and best friend, Rose Weasley.

"Albus? We might want to get out of the corridor… our dads put our trunks in the compartment over there," Rose suggested as she gestured to the nearest compartment. Albus grinned back at her and led the way. Once he entered, he sat down underneath the rack that held his trunk and owl, though he could've sat practically anywhere as there was only one other person besides himself and Rose in his apartment.

"Hello," the boy greeted them. He was about Albus's height, had cool blue eyes, and bleach blonde hair. "I'm a first year and my name is Greg Davis. Yeah, my real first name is Greg; my parents aren't much for formal names," Greg added, rolling his eyes.

"Albus Potter," Albus told Greg politely, internally cringing for the conversation that was bound to follow.

"Rose Weasley," Rose said in an equally polite but resigned voice.

"I figured who you were, Albus, 'cause you look almost exactly like your dad. Rose, it's really good to meet you, I've heard a lot of good things about the Weasley family. So," Greg said, realizing that he was making the other two feel awkward, "Did you read the paper yet today? The Cannons almost beat the Tornadoes!"

The talk of Quidditch was a great distraction from talking about Albus's dad, and he was grateful. While Albus and Greg talked of the Chudley Cannons, who was the worst Quidditch team around and Rose, who hated Quidditch, read The Standard Book of Spells: Grade One, a large thump was heard just outside the door. Albus, who was nearest, immediately stood up and pulled the door open.

A boy had tripped over the heavy trunk he was carrying and lay sprawled on the carpeted floor. He seemed to be extremely tired and stumbled a bit getting back up. "Hey, are you alright?" asked Albus with some concern before realizing the boy was definitely not. He had long, faded scars up his tanned arms and a few were on his face, leading back into his golden brown hair. There were also quite a few fresh cuts and bruises.

The boy laughed, though a bit nervously, and averted his brown eyes. "Yeah, I'm just extremely clumsy. Probably the only clumsy Beater who's actually good. My name is Danny Bentley. I'm a first year, so I don't really know anyone… is there any room in your compartment?" He added on, looking hopefully inside.

"Yep," Greg told Danny. "Need help with your trunk?"

Together, the three boys managed to lift the heavy trunk up onto the luggage rack. Afterwards they introduced themselves- thankfully, Danny had the same reaction to Albus and Rose as Greg had- and they were free to continue their talk on Quidditch.

"I've snuck my Firebolt in my trunk," Danny said with a grin. "I want to play for whatever House I'm in. Do you two play?"

"A bit, but I doubt I'm good enough to play for the House team right now. And no offence, but you're pretty scarred up. You might not be good enough," Greg stated.

An odd look had come upon Danny's face when Greg had mentioned the scars, but it immediately relaxed. "What about you Albus? I heard your dad played Seeker for Gryffindor."

"I play Seeker, too," stated Albus proudly. "My dad and my dad's godson, Teddy, taught me. They say I'm probably going to make the team next year. My brother James is trying out for Chaser this year."

"That's great! Maybe you and I will be teammates. What House do you want to be in?"

"Gryffindor," said Albus automatically. "My whole family has been in Gryffindor. Slytherin," he continued forcefully, "is not an option."

"My parents were both in Hufflepuff, but they also fought in the war, so that means they're brave. So we'll have to see," smiled Greg.

"Gryffindor. Lions are awesome. Rose?" Danny asked.

Rose rolled her eyes. "We don't get to pick what House we're in," she said exasperated before she continued reading.

"I know, but_" a loud knock on the door interrupted Danny and a tall girl with raven colored hair strode into the apartment.

"Sorry to interrupt you, but I was wondering if you would have happened to found a wand? My friend Jill Longbottom has lost one."

"Hey, we know Jill! How'd she lose her wand?" Rose exclaimed.

"Rose? Is that you?" Jill walked into the compartment. "I lost my wand," she groaned. "I can't believe I lost it!" She folded her arms, and a long strip of wood stuck out her sweater sleeve.

"Uh, Jill…" The first girl muttered, smirking. She pointed to the wand.

"Oh! Thank God! Thank you!"

"No problem. My name's Megan, by the way. Megan Riddle."


	2. Choices

The effect in the compartment couldn't have been more immediate. Rose and Albus gasped, and both drew their wands. Danny, Jill, and Greg didn't seem to have their wands on them, but they all glared at Riddle with hatred etched in every crevice of their face.

"Sit down. And hands were we can see them!" Rose said, her voice extremely high-pitched.

Megan sat down, and Danny slammed the compartment door shut.

Megan had both a terrified and confused expression on her face. "Wh- why are you guys pointing your w- wands at me?" she asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

"Are you related to Voldemort? Well, actually, Tom Riddle?" Albus asked bluntly, hoping that Rose had learned a few hexes while she was reading, because Albus didn't know any spells past Lumos.

Megan's face didn't change from confused, but she relaxed. "Yes, my great grandfather's name was Tom Riddle. But I've never heard of Voldemort."

Rose's expression hardened. "That's impossible that you haven't heard of him. He's the most famous Dark wizard in Britain."

Megan shrugged. "I didn't even know about magic until last summer. My parents aren't a witch and wizard."

Albus was growing more hostile by the second. "Tell us everyone in your family back for the past few generations."

"My father's name is James, and my mum's name is Julia. I'm guessing you only care about Riddle heritage?" She shot at Albus, who nodded. "My grandfather's name is Charles. And then his father's name was Tom, but he was murdered in 1943."

Rose yanked down her trunk, narrowly missing Danny, and started rifling around in it. Finding her History of Magic textbook, she rummaged around in it. "That's when Voldemort murdered his father," she muttered distractedly. "It doesn't say that Voldemort had another brother," she added suspiciously. "Are you sure that your grandfather's name is Charles _Riddle_?"

Megan nodded. "Yes. He comes 'round our place all the time."

Rose glanced at Albus anxiously. "Did Uncle Harry say anything about Voldemort having a brother? I mean, the surname thing might be a coincidence, but Voldemort murdered his father in 1943 and Megan's great-grandfather was murdered the same year…"

Albus shook his head, but then frowned. "My dad said that Voldemort's dad left his mum before Voldemort was born. He didn't know anything else about it."

Rose looked at Albus, bewildered. "You don't think… you don't think that Tom Riddle Sr. could have had another kid?"

"My great-grandfather did have another child. But my father or grandfather never exactly told me why he didn't stay with her. I think it was because she had lied about her origin, or something along the sort."

"She's related to Voldemort," Albus said in disbelief.

Danny spoke up. "It doesn't really matter if she's very slightly related to Voldemort. She's not evil. She's not even a Parseltongue," he added as an afterthought, grinning at her.

Albus shifted uncomfortably, and Rose glanced at him. _He_ was a Parseltongue, after all.

After another moment, Albus put his wand away, and a sheepish expression appeared on his face. Rose did the same. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "It's just that…" he proceeded to tell Megan the story that his father had told him and Rose just last night. Harry didn't like talking about the war, but considering that Albus was sure to be questioned as James had, and Albus would tell Rose anyway, Harry had decided to tell them.

"I don't blame you for pulling your wand on me," Megan said after they were finished, looking sick. "Voldemort was evil."

"Yeah," Albus agreed, though he still felt guilty for pulling his wand on the girl.

A loud voice asked, "Anything off the trolley, dears?"

Albus jumped up and bought a large quantity of Chocolate Frogs and a few Cauldron Cakes. They were his favorite by far. After a second thought, he also bought some Licorice Wands, Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans, and Pumpkin Pasties. He offered some to the muggle-born as a truce for accusing her of basically being the next Dark Lord. The girl smiled at him, and he asked, "What House do you want to be in?"

"House?" the girl asked, looking confused.

"Blimey! Jill, have you told her anything about Hogwarts?"

Jill looked indignant as she looked up from a Cauldron Cake. "Of course! I just thought Quidditch was more important than Houses!"

Danny laughed as Rose looked annoyed at the continued mention of the sport; or maybe it was because once Danny could stop laughing he stated, "You know, Jill has a point, Albus."

Greg laughed as well and asked, "Anyone up for a Wizards Chess Tournament?"

The tournament held them over until the train ride was completed, with Rose beating Danny, Jill, and Megan horribly and Albus and Greg moderately. Rose always won chess games. Though Albus wasn't bad, he was nowhere near as good as Rose was. Greg was still sulking about the loss when Rose told them that they all had better get their robes on. Jill and Megan went back to their own compartment, and Rose went with them to give the boys some privacy, as she had had her robes on since arriving on the train.

When Danny was changing, Albus couldn't help staring at his back. There were long scars crisscrossing it. "It's nothing, Albus," Danny assured him.

Albus nodded, but he didn't believe him. Nobody gets such brutal scars from nothing.

Greg apparently had the same thought and voiced his opinion. "If you got those scars from Quidditch, then your mum or dad would have been able to magically heal them. Those were inflicted magically otherwise."

Danny shrugged and said quickly, "My Mum and Dad aren't very good at healing spells. They both attended good schools in America; The Great Lakes Institute of Magic and the West Coast Boy's School of Wizardry. Mum works in Law Enforcement and Dad as a curse-breaker. That's why we don't live in America anymore. Dad transferred jobs. Quite unfortunate that you really don't need healing spells for those jobs, 'cause I'm the most accident prone bloke that ever existed." As if proving his last statement, Danny almost fell over as the train stopped.

Albus laughed a little. "That's why you've got that weird accent. You're American!"

Danny laughed, too. "I'm just lucky that we moved before I started school. Anyway, I think the scars look pretty cool."

Greg nodded. "They do, but for the ones that are just healing, you could go to Madam Pomfrey. She could set you right, and maybe you could keep the scars," he added on as he jumped off the train.

Albus quickly followed suit, landing for the first time ever on Hogsmeade Station.

"Sure," Danny called to Greg as he too jumped off the train, stumbled, and crashed into none other than Scorpius Malfoy. "Bloody Hell! Sorry, mate!" Danny exclaimed.

But Malfoy wasn't looking at Danny.

"Potter," he said cooly.

"Scorpius," Albus nodded at him. He wouldn't not call him just 'Malfoy' and stoop to his level. He would not.

Malfoy looked like he was going to say something else, but before he had a chance a voice carried down to their end of the station. "Firs' years! This way!"

"Hey, Hagrid!" Albus yelled.

"Hello, Al! Who's that?" he asked Albus, gesturing to Greg and Danny.

"Albus! There you guys are!" Rose exclaimed, having finally caught up with them.

"Hey, Rose," Albus grinned. To Hagrid, he said, "This is Greg Davis"- Albus gestured to the blonde prankster- "Jill Longbottom, you know her of course," the tall model waved dreamily. "Megan Riddle," Albus stated, looking for Hagrid's reaction. Hagrid's eyes grew wide, but then relaxed. Megan waved shyly and pushed her hair out of her pale eyes. "And this is Danny Bentley." His scarred friend waved and gave Hagrid a mischievous smile.

"Nice teh meet yeh." Now follow me to the boats!" A group of about twenty five first years followed Hagrid down a steep path and all eagerly crowned around the wooden boats. The small number made Albus upset; he really hadn't realized just how many people had been affected by the war nineteen years ago.

"Go on," Hagrid laughed. "Don't be shy."

Albus crowded onto a boat with Rose, Jill, and Greg.

Danny was with Megan, another boy, and unfortunately, Scorpius Malfoy.

Once they started sailing, Albus forgot about Scorpius and enjoyed the ride. The moon was half full, though waning as the full moon was in a week. The sky was cloudless and full of stars, reflecting in the calm water. At least, the water was calm until Danny and Megan's boat tipped into the water.

The first years all started muttering and Albus, Greg, and Rose all yelled, "Danny! Megan!"

Hagrid had stopped the boats and, it seemed, was about to jump into the lake, but it wasn't needed; Danny, Megan, Scorpius, and the boy who looked like a rat all were treading water.

"Back in the boat!" Roared Hagrid, though he was clearly relieved.

Danny shoved Malfoy out of the way to let Megan get on first. His facial expression was slightly guilty at her terrified expression.

"Bet you ten sickles he tipped the boat on purpose," Greg muttered to Albus.

Albus shook his head and grinned. "I'm not taking you up on that bet."

The rest of the sail went smoothly, and though Albus had seen Hogwarts before, he felt that the first real time he had seen it was on this boat. The sail was over too soon for Albus's liking. He carefully clambered out of the boat, then turned around to help out Rose.

After Albus and his friends were back in a group, he asked Danny quietly, "How'd your boat tip?"

Danny growled, "Malfoy wouldn't shut up about Megan being the next Dark Lord because of her frigging last name."

Albus figured 'frigging' rivaled the British word 'bloody', so he didn't ask and Danny continued, "So, in order to shut him up, I tipped the boat. Wasn't hard, really."

Megan laughed through her teeth. "Thanks, but next time make sure the water isn't freezing!"

"Yeah, Danny, that was really reckless. And stupid. And dangerous," Rose reprimanded. "What if Megan or someone didn't know how to swim?"

Danny shrugged and opened his mouth to retort, but Hagrid knocked three times on the front doors and the first years went silent.

"Are these the new first years, Hagrid?" Asked Professor Bones.

"Unless the seventh years are short and getting resorted," Danny whispered to Greg and Albus, who sniggered.

Either Professor Bones hadn't heard Danny, or had heard him but chose to ignore it, as she turned at Hagrid's nod and walked into the Entrance Hall. Albus was glad the Professor's leniency; he didn't want Danny to get in trouble already.

"There are four Houses at Hogwarts. Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin."

From the way she had said 'Hufflepuff' and 'Slytherin', Albus guessed that she loathed Slytherin and was a Hufflepuff herself. This did not make Albus feel any better.

"Your House will be like your family while you're here. You'll eat with your House, sleep in the dormitories, and compete with your house in various competitions. The way you get sorted," she paused and took a breath here, much to the irritation if the first years. "Is to try on the Sorting Hat."

She turned around, entered the Great Hall, and beckoned for the first years to follow her. There were the collective gasps from students about the night sky, but Albus already knew about it; he had been there at night plenty of times for the memorial service.

Rose was muttering very, very fast to Albus. "Don't worry, Al, you won't be in Slytherin, it's okay to be nervous, everyone is…"

Albus wished she could tell her to shut up, but knew that she was only talking so quickly because she too, was nervous. But she didn't have to worry about being sorted into Slytherin.

As he stared up at the staff table, he realized that Professor Longbottom, not Professor McGonagall, was sitting in the Head's chair.

"Rose," he whispered. "Look!" but Rose wasn't looking; her eyes were closed very tightly, and she looked sick.

But they were already at the front of the Hall. Professor Bones cleared her throat, and the Sorting Hat began to speak, but Albus was so engrossed in Rose's anxiety that he couldn't pay attention.

Professor Bones called, "Bentley, Daniel!"

Rose's eyes opened, and she paid strict attention to Danny's sorting. His face was terrified as he tried on the hat. Because of his fear, his scars suddenly seemed more defined than ever. The students all whispered at the scars, and Albus felt a rush of anger.

The hat was taking an extremely long time, but finally…

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus clapped his friend on the back as he walked back, and exhaled. His father had said that he hadn't really been good friends with people in other Houses, but Danny was already his friend and he really didn't want to lose him (and as long as Albus was in Gryffindor, he was determined that they would stay friends); it was the same with Greg, Jill, and even Megan. He'd never lose Rose- the two were friends since they were born.

The five more people were sorted, but then… "Davis, Greg!"

Almost as soon as the hat touched his head, it shouted out, "Gryffindor!"

Albus cheered and slapped Greg on the back as well.

Many more names went by… some were familiar and some were not. They had just finished with 'Lang, Mitchell' when Professor Bones shouted out, "Longbottom, Jillian!"

Jill's face looked like she had been hit with the body-bind curse, and Rose had to give her a little push towards the hat. Setting her jaw in determination, Jill sat up straight on the stool as the hat sorted her. Only about a minute had gone by before the hat bellowed, "Gryffindor!"

The explosion from the Gryffindor table had been the loudest Albus had heard so far; after all, her father Neville was the one who killed the snake Horcrux during the Battle of Hogwarts. Jill slid into the seat across from Danny.

Albus knew it wasn't long now, and his heart was hammering so loudly in his ears that he couldn't pay attention to the other names being called until…

"Malfoy, Scorpius,"

"A Galleon says that he goes to Slytherin," whispered Megan.

"You guys shouldn't be gambling!" Rose muttered crossly.

Albus ignored Rose and laughed, "Good thing I didn't take you up on that bet!" to Megan; Scorpius had been sorted into Slytherin as fast as Greg had been sorted into Gryffindor.

But then… "Potter, Albus!"

"Good luck, Al," Rose whispered sincerely as the rest of the hall went silent. It seemed that the walk up to the stool was a mile, though in truth it was only a few meters. He shakily walked up there, sat on the stool, and tried to sit up straight as Jill had done as the hat dropped over his eyes.

_I choose Gryffindor, _He thought immediately and forcefully.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The hat yelped.

Albus was being cheered for even louder than Jill had; his cousins and James were being overly obnoxious, but that was why he loved them. As he walked towards the Gryffindor table, Danny gestured to the seat on the other side of Greg and Albus took it, shaking. His Dad had been right, as usual. Albus felt so happy, he couldn't even breathe and was smiling as Megan was called.

"Riddle, Megan"

The hall went silent. It seemed like everyone was either staring at Albus, the splitting image of his father, or glaring at Megan. Everyone now knew that Voldemort's original name had been Riddle. Albus couldn't help but feel angry. His friend wasn't evil, he thought savagely as she sat down on the stool. But after a few minutes on Megan's head, it began to speak clearly.

"I will not choose the House for Megan Riddle."

Everyone looked at the hat, and a few of the kids who had had grandparents, uncles, or even parents killed by Voldemort or the Death Eaters jeered and clapped.

"Megan Riddle will choose her own path."

A few of the older, troll-like Slytherins looked hopefully at her. Even Scorpius Malfoy looked interested. The rest of the hall looked repulsed at the thought of having Voldemort's relation in their House.

Professor Bones, though she looked surprised, offered her a small smile. "Well, which House?" she asked quietly, though Albus could read lips.

"Gryffindor. I want to be in Gryffindor. Anywhere but Slytherin."

"Gryffindor!" the hat stated proudly.

Albus clapped especially hard, and he remembered what his father had told him during his childhood when he had asked about his first name. _It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be._ _Albus Dumbledore had it right_, Albus thought.

Several more people were sorted, until finally Rose was the last person left. It took Rose about three minutes to be sorted; Albus supposed that the hat was debating between Gryffindor, like the rest of the Weasleys, or Ravenclaw.

"Gryffindor!"

Albus uncrossed his fingers and clapped hard.

When she finally slid in across from Albus, she whispered, "Maybe we'll finally learn why Professor Longbottom is Headmaster instead of Professor McGonagall."

But Professor Longbottom merely stood up and told them, "Welcome to another year here at this magnificent school. I'm sure many of you are surprised at some changes"- he gestured to himself- "But now is the time for eating, not talking." He sat down again and the plates filled with food.

As Albus ate and talked with his friends, he couldn't help but notice the stares both he and Megan were receiving. He supposed it was only expected; the Boy-Who-Lived's son with Voldemort's half-great niece.

The food was great, and Albus was hungry, but he was also curious about why Professor Longbottom had been made headmaster. Harry had been convinced that McGonagall would never retire. Finally, the food vanished and Professor Longbottom stood up.

"I am going to be filling in for Professor McGonagall as the Head of Hogwarts for this year. Professor McGonagall went on an educational journey to France, and will be spending a majority of the year there. She trusts that I can keep this school running smoothly, and unfortunately, that requires a few rules. The Forbidden Forest is out of bounds, as is the Whomping Willow and Hogsmeade unless there is a scheduled trip. There is a list of over six hundred banned items on Mr. Filch's door. Also, anything from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes is banned with no exceptions." Albus could have sworn he had saw Neville roll his eyes at this. "Anyway, there is also no magic in the corridors. Also, Professor Sprout has graciously decided to come out of retirement for this year. Now, I think that's enough with rules. Dismissed!"

Albus could hear the prefects shouting, "First years… this way." He followed his cousin Fred through the mass of people in the Great Hall and up to Gryffindor Tower. He didn't bother trying to remember the way they took; he was too tired and would get lost tomorrow morning anyway.

"Blast-Ended Skrewt."

The portrait of a fat lady in a pink dress opened, and Albus climbed inside. Fred showed him the dorm, and bidding goodnight to Rose, Megan, and Jill, Greg, Danny, and Albus made their way to the door marked First Years. Albus wanted to collapse on his bed and never move again, but first he wrote to his father.

Dear Dad,

I was sorted into Gryffindor! I just asked the hat to put me there, and it did, just like you said. I met a few new people; Danny Bentley, Greg Davis, and Megan Riddle. Before you ask, Dad, yes Megan is related to Voldemort. But she's a Gryffindor. You told me that it's what people become that's more important than what her relation is. Draco Malfoy turned out to be good, sort of. Anyway, I'm really tired, so I'll be off. Write back soon, please.

Love, Albus

Albus sent it off with his owl, Crackers, and then got ready for bed. He felt a rush of excitement, as if his whole life had been leading up to the next seven years.


	3. The Prank War

**Zinnaella Amilie-Anne Black: Thanks for giving me the motivation to write again. I'll update every few days. Enjoy!**

Albus woke up the next morning, a Saturday, to Crackers pecking him on his hand, hard. "Ouch!" he exclaimed, sitting straight up. Glaring at his owl, he undid the string attaching the scroll to its leg. In response to his glare, Crackers hooted cheerfully and Albus couldn't help laughing. He kicked off his covers and pet Crackers before reading the letter his dad had sent back.

Dear Al,

Congratulations on being sorted into Gryffindor. I told Teddy, your mother, and Lily and their all extremely proud. Be careful around Megan Riddle. I'm glad you're willing to shift her past and not judge on her descendants, but the fact remains that she is related to Voldemort. Just watch your back.

Love,

Dad

Albus took a breath of relief and looked at Danny and Greg, who were both still sleeping. He smiled to himself before taking a Weasley firework and lighting it.

Immediately a Gryffindor Lion emerged and roared realistically.

His roomates' reactions were priceless. Danny yelled and fell comically out of bed. Greg sat bolt upright and looked shocked, is mouth gaping open. Albus grabbed his wand and muttered the incantation to get rid of the firework and didn't see Danny sneaking up behind him.

"You_ are_ a_ git!" Danny shouted, whacking Albus upside the head with a pillow and Greg joined in immediately.

Finally, the two stopped and glared at Albus. "Uh... not morning people?" he asked cheekily before realizing his glasses were bent. "You gits."

Danny shook his hair out of his eyes and snorted. "It's only eight in the morning! On a weekend! Are you nuts?"

Greg nodded. "He definitely is."

Albus chucked a shoe at him.

An hour later, they were down in the Great Hall eating breakfast. The girls showed up within ten minutes and they were discussing what to do that day, as they had no classes. Rose wanted to find the library. Greg and Danny wanted to have a three-on-three Quidditch match, but the other five obviously had no brooms, and Megan was muggle-born so she had never flown before. Jill wanted to go and visit Professor Longbottom. Albus and Megan wanted to explore the castle to try and find secret passageways.

Danny agreed with Albus and Megan immediately. "We're gonna be running this place. We need to know how to get where we're going faster than anyone else," he said cockily, but there was a serious edge to his voice that took Albus by surprise. Albus didn't care about being popular, but the way Danny said it made sense.

Albus nodded and stood up, saying, "Let's start in the dungeons."

Rose rolled her eyes and agreed halfheartedly. The others followed suit and Albus and Danny led them out of the hall.

It wasn't as much fun as Albus had originally thought. For one, they had no idea what they were looking for. For another, it was freezing down in the dungeons despite the warm September air outside.

Just as they were about to give up, Scorpius Malfoy, James Preston, the boy who looked like a rat, and Keith Everden emerged from a panel of a stone wall that opened up. Luckily, the three did not see Albus and his friends. Albus was able to see what looked like a green and silver lounge before the wall sealed shut. He and his friends held their breath until Malfoy's clan was out of sight.

"This is fantastic! We've found the Slytherin Common Room!" Danny laughed, clearly imagining all the pranks they could pull of Malfoy.

"Danny!" Rose scolded.

"What? Rose, we have to get them back for what they were saying to Megan last night."

Megan flushed a bit. "Danny, it's not a big deal. Besides, you've already tipped the boat. I'm a Gryffindor. No harm done."

Greg shrugged. "We'll have plenty of other time to get them back. We'll just learn hexes and duel them," he added at Danny's disappointed expression.

"Oh, all right then," Albus said. "Let's go visit Professor Longbottom in the greenhouses."

Jill smiled. "Finally! It's freezing down here!"

After a very good morning of helping Neville harvest a variety of magical, but not dangerous, plants, and earning thirty points for Gryffindor, the six made their way back up to the castle for lunch.

On the way, Albus couldn't help but notice how people sent scandalous looks at Megan, they they thought she was going to hex them on the spot. Albus thought this was extremely stupid of them. She was a first year muggle-born who hadn't even known magic existed until a month or so ago.

Albus didn't want Megan to realize this, so he purposely suggested that they took food out of the Great Hall and eat it on the grounds. Rose was nervous at first, but Albus assured her that the worst that could happen was they were told they couldn't do it again.

After they ate lunch, they lazed around by the lake and watched people fly around the grounds. Albus couldn't wait until next year so he could take his Nimbus 2001 to school. Maybe he could be a Seeker...

"Aww, is it naptime for Potter already?"

Albus was on the move when he heard the first syllable of Scorpius's sentence. He didn't know why. Maybe his dad's story had made him jumpy. Maybe it was reflex. Either way, Albus was on his feet facing Malfoy before he was even fully awake.

Malfoy laughed. "Jumpy there, are you Potter? I would be scared too, if I were you."

Albus rolled his eyes as the rest of his friends stood up. "If I was scared of you, I would've run, idiot."

Malfoy sneered, "Just wait until we start classes and start to learn some real hexes. Until then, I'd watch your back if I were you." Malfoy took off, with Preston and Everden at his heels like dogs.

"He's not going to beat me at anything," Albus snarled. He didn't know why he was reacting to Scorpius's words so strongly. James was the rash one, the violent one. Albus was the one who was open minded.

"No. He's not going to beat any of us," Greg added. "Rose, this is your que to to say, 'To the library!'"

Rose rolled her eyes.

The six remained in the library for the rest of the weekend, poring through books. Rose read simply everything, Jill focused on Herbology and Astronomy, Megan tried to read everything possible on Voldemort, and Greg and Danny didn't read at all, but merely started to write plans in a muggle notebook Megan had brought and called it 'The Prank Files', stating that they had to have a 'battle plan' for whatever Scorpius planned on doing to them.

As for Albus, he spent his time memorizing the first chapter of every textbook. Albus thought Potions looked fun, Transfiguration would confuse him, Charms would be extremely helpful, Astronomy would be memorization, History of Magic would only be interesting when they got up to The Second War with Voldemort, Herbology would be okay with Neville teaching them, and Defense Against the Dark Arts would be the most important.

All-in-all, Albus couldn't wait for the classes.

Albus woke up Monday morning to Greg's alarm clock, which Danny chucked down the stairs claiming that the beeping sound was annoying.

Down at breakfast, it seemed everyone was staring at Megan as she sat between Danny and Rose. Albus knew that she realized it, too, and was about to tell her not to worry when James showed up and sat of Albus's left.

"Morning, Al," James said, carelessly piling bacon on his plate.

"Morning, James," Al grinned back. Then he asked, "When do we get our schedules?"

"Aw, Al, don't tell me you're excited for school!" James groaned, pulling a face.

"I'm not!" Albus said defensively. "I just... er... don't want to lose Gryffindor points by being late to class!"

"Sure, Al," James laughed. "Professor Longbottom will give them out soon."

Sure enough, they got their schedules within ten minutes of James and Albus's conversation. Albus saw they had Potions first, with the Slytherins. Albus groaned. He had really been looking forward to Potions, and now he had to have classes with Scorpius.

Still, he knew it was no use complaining, and he took a table with Jill as the class filed into the dungeon room.

Slughorn began talking immediately. Albus had met Slughorn before, and knew that he liked talking, especially about himself, so he expected a lecture with little snippets of him saying how he had taught so-and-so.

Instead, Slughorn set them to work on a potion that was supposed to get rid of boils, with Honeydukes chocolate for a prize. Albus thought he should just go ask one of his girl cousins to borrow one of his Uncle George's Wonder Witch products, but he knew Slughorn wouldn't accept it.

Ignoring Malfoy, Preston, and Everden's snide remarks and sneers, he six set to work. Jill and Albus were both equally skilled at potion-making, Greg and Megan were okay, but their potion was still a lighter shade than the book described, and though Rose and Danny's potion was perfect, it was obvious that Rose was doing all the work. Danny only seemed capable of handing her the ingredients from the store cupboard.

To Albus's relief, their potion turned out alright. Rose and Danny won the chocolate, but Albus thought there's was a close second. All-in-all, the lesson had gone well: it didn't look like the war with Malfoy hadn't started yet.

Just as Megan and Greg were about to clean up, however, Their table broke cleanly down the middle- Albus immediately thought of the WoodSaw Charm, a spell in the first chapter of his Charms textbook. He was desperately trying to remember how to reverse it, but the damage was done. Megan and Greg were covered in the potion, and they began to scream. Albus knew the hot potion had to be burning them, and yelled at Slughorn, "Do something!"

Slughorn snapped out of his look of surprise and vanished the potion. Megan and Greg stood there, covered in angry burns, and Slughorn said feebly, "Miss Granger, Miss Longbottom... escort those two to he hospital, please.

Albus murmured to Danny about the WoodSaw Charm as Jill, Rose, Megan, and Greg left the dungeons. Danny was furious, and turned around to face Malfoy. Luckily the bell rang then, so in the effort to get to the door no one noticed Albus restraining Danny's attempts to get to Malfoy, who gave them a huge smirk before strutting off. Albus felt like hitting Malfoy, too, but he knew something more important was at stake. Malfoy had purposely targeted Megan. Albus told this to Danny.

Danny, with venom in his voice, growled, "This Prank War is on."


End file.
